Larks' Tongues in Aspic
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Larks' Tongues in Aspic is the fifth studio album by the English progressive rock group King Crimson, originally released in 1973. This album is the debut of King Crimson's third incarnation, featuring original member and guitarist Robert Fripp and new members John Wetton (vocals, bass guitar), David Cross (violin, Mellotron), Jamie Muir (percussion), and Bill Bruford (drums). Bruford had just left Yes before they embarked on their Close to the Edge tour. Bruford felt that he had done all he could with Yes at this point and thought the more jazz-oriented King Crimson would be a more expansive outlet.
Song info
The album sees the band incorporate into its sound violin and also various exotic percussion instruments, including sheet metal and mbiras.
The album opens with a long experimental instrumental piece titled "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part One)". After that there are three vocal pieces, "Book of Saturday", "Exiles" and "Easy Money", with lyrics written by Richard Palmer-James. These are followed by two more instrumentals, "The Talking Drum" and "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part Two)". The instrumental pieces on this album have strong jazz fusion influences, and portions have an almost heavy metal feel.
The album spawned the concert staple "Exiles", whose Mellotron introduction had been adapted from an instrumental piece called "Mantra" the band's original line up performed throughout 1969. At that time, as well as in late 1972, the melody was played by Fripp on guitar. It is the only studio album with this 5-man line up, since Muir left the group while on tour in 1973. Attrition took this incarnation of King Crimson through the next several albums until Fripp's "retirement" in 1975.
In 2012 the album was issued as part of the King Crimson 40th Anniversary Series, including the release of an expansive box set subtitled "The Complete Recordings". This CD, DVD-A and Blu-ray set includes every available recording of the short-lived 5 man line-up, through live performances and studio sessions. As with the rest of the 40th Anniversary Series, the release features new stereo and 5.1 surround mixes produced by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp, taken from the original multi-track master tapes, as well as a selection of alternative versions. Clean video footage of the band performing early versions of "Exiles", "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part I)" and a 30 minute improvisation became available publicly for the first time as part of this reissue; previously only one of the pieces had been broadcast on German television, with heavy visual effects applied to the image.[1] In addition, all known concert-recordings with this line-up are enclosed. Some of them were previously released through the King Crimson Collectors Club. There are two new recordings; one is from Glasgow, and was delivered from Ole Petter Dronen and the other one is Muir's penultimate gig with the band in Portsmouth, without credited source. The box also contains a link to a free download of a London-gig which is barely listenable and meant for completists only.
Reception and legacy
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Georgiy Starostin |   [6] |
| Piero Scaruffi | 7/10[4] |
| Robert Christgau | B−[3] |
| The Daily Vault | B+[5] |
Allmusic's retrospective review was resoundingly positive, marking every aspect of the band's transition from a jazz-influenced vein to a more experimental one as a complete success. They deemed John Wetton "the group's strongest singer/bassist since Greg Lake's departure." They especially praised the remastered edition.[2]
Georgiy Starostin was also favourable, calling the album a "nearly perfect collection of experimental superprofessional jamming" and remarked the album saying that "one might even argue that not until Larks' Tongues In Aspic did Fripp find the stable formula for the band that would finally set it in a definite and unique niche of its own".[6]
Robert Christgau's retrospective review gave a more negative view, saying of the band's instrumental work, "not only doesn't it cook, which figures, it doesn't quite jell either."[3]
In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came number 22 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".[7]
The progressive metal band Dream Theater covered "Larks' Tongues in Aspic Pt. II" in 2009; the cover is featured on the special edition of their album Black Clouds & Silver Linings.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writers | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part One)" | David Cross, Robert Fripp, John Wetton, Bill Bruford, Jamie Muir | 13:36 |
| 2. | "Book of Saturday" | Fripp, Wetton, Richard Palmer-James | 2:53 |
| 3. | "Exiles" | Cross, Fripp, Palmer-James | 7:40 |
| No. | Title | Writers | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4. | "Easy Money" | Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James | 7:54 |
| 5. | "The Talking Drum" | Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford, Muir | 7:26 |
| 6. | "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part Two)" | Fripp | 7:07 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part One)" (Alternative Mix) | |
| 8. | "Book of Saturday" (Alternative Take) | |
| 9. | "The Talking Drum" (Alternative Mix) |
Personnel
- Robert Fripp – guitars, Mellotron, devices, electric piano
- John Wetton – bass, lead vocals, acoustic piano
- Bill Bruford – drums
- David Cross – violin, viola, Mellotron, flute, electric piano
- Jamie Muir – percussion
- Additional personnel
- Nick Ryan – engineering
- Richard Palmer-James – lyrics
References
- ^ "Reissue announcement".
- ^ a b Eder, Bruce (2011 [last update]). "Larks' Tongues in Aspic - King Crimson | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ a b Christgau, Robert (2011 [last update]). "Robert Christgau: CG: King Crimson". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ http://www.scaruffi.com/vol2/kingcrim.html Piero Scaruffi: The History of Rock Music. King Crimson: biography, discography, reviews, links
- ^ Ray, Benjamin (04/11/2007). "Larks' Tongues In Aspic King Crimson EG, 1973". Retrieved August 23, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Starostin, Georgiy. "Larks' Tongues in Aspic review". http://starling.rinet.ru/music/index.htm (Only Solitaire: George Starostin's Music Reviews). Retrieved August 27, 2012.
{{cite web}}: External link in|work= - ^ Q Classic: Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, 2005.
